"Oh! My heavens! How could such a terrible thing exist in this world!"
On the way to Fontaine, Wriothesley couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh.
"The condition for my corruption… how is it related to drinking tea?"
"If you don't let me drink tea, isn't that the same as taking my life?"
"But Neuvillette has made such great sacrifices for Fontaine, for fighting against the Eerie. If I just have to refrain from drinking tea for one day a week, it doesn't seem like such a big deal… I suppose I can accept it."
"Your Grace, based on what Su Yuan just described, I don't think it's just one day—it's four days," Sigewinne said slowly.
"Since you drank tea the day before yesterday, yesterday, and today, and nothing unusual happened, we can rule out those three days…"
"But starting from tomorrow, for the next four days, if you drink tea, there will be a one in four chance that you'll be corrupted by the Eerie," Sigewinne mused.
"The safest approach is to avoid drinking tea on those four days every week from now on."
"That's right." Su Yuan nodded. "That's what I was thinking too."
Wriothesley instantly had a look of utter despair on his face…
"It's okay, Your Grace. From now on, your morning drink will change from hot tea to the milkshakes I prepare for you!"
Sigewinne smiled at Wriothesley, offering her "comfort" in a considerate manner.
Now, she finally had a legitimate reason to make him drink her milkshakes openly and justifiably.
"You will finish it all, won't you?"
Meanwhile, ever since meeting Wriothesley in the morning, Su Yuan had been carefully observing him from every possible angle, trying to detect any differences.
However, he found that Wriothesley seemed exactly the same as before…
But then he recalled how Chevreuse had been controlled by the Eerie before, and even Neuvillette hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Considering that Su Yuan hadn't spent that much time with Wriothesley, what if he was also overlooking something?
Hmm… It would be best to have Neuvillette take a closer look at Wriothesley.
If even Neuvillette confirmed that nothing was wrong, then it should truly be fine.
When Su Yuan and his group arrived at Neuvillette's office, they found that Furina and Chevreuse were already there—and their expressions were grave.
Seeing them enter, Furina greeted them, "Wriothesley, Sigewinne, good morning!"
Then, she turned specifically to Su Yuan and gave him a sweet smile. "Good morning, Su Yuan."
Looking at Furina's radiant smile, Su Yuan felt his heart melt.
What a great way to start the day—this was the beginning of a good mood!
"Su Yuan," Neuvillette looked at him and spoke, "There were some incidents in Fontaine Court and the Opera Epiclese yesterday. Fu… Fu… and Chevreuse and I have been discussing the situation."
"However, your intelligence takes priority. Tell us first—what new information and rules have been revealed today?"
Was Fontaine really so dependent on Neuvillette?
Could it not function without him?
He had only taken a single day off, and now there were already accidents?
And judging by their serious expressions, these incidents seemed quite severe…
Also, Neuvillette still seemed a little awkward when saying "Fufu" so casually—he was clearly still getting used to it.
Though Su Yuan had many questions in his mind, he didn't hesitate.
He began recounting everything—the abnormalities in the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, as well as the conditions for Wriothesley's potential Eerie transformation—informing everyone present.
Of course, when it came to the possibility of himself being controlled by the Eerie, Su Yuan chose not to speak of it…
First, he firmly believed that he would never be controlled.
Second, he feared that if he mentioned it, he might lose the trust of the others…
Besides, he had the ultimate trump card—his ability to reset time.
Even if something unexpected did happen, he should be able to handle it.
"Speaking of which, Neuvillette, Wriothesley already drank tea this morning. Do you notice anything unusual about him?" Su Yuan asked directly.
"Hey… Su Yuan, I've seen you eyeing me up and down all morning, and you still haven't let go of your doubts?" Wriothesley couldn't help but speak up.
"You're really being too cautious…"
"Better safe than sorry," Su Yuan explained.
"After all, we still haven't pinpointed exactly which day triggers your Eerie transformation… and the Eerie are good at disguising themselves, aren't they?"
"I don't think there's anything wrong with Wriothesley," Neuvillette said.
"The reason I failed to recognize Chevreuse before was because I wasn't familiar enough with her. But Wriothesley—he doesn't seem any different from before."
"If Wriothesley had already been taken over by the Eerie, then with only us in this room, he would have already revealed his true nature by now."
"Su Yuan, even Neuvillette has said so. You should be able to relax now, right?" Wriothesley sighed helplessly, waving his hand.
"Mm." Su Yuan nodded.
Since Neuvillette had confirmed it, there shouldn't be much of a problem.
"Su Yuan, back to what you just mentioned—has the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale really lost its original function?" Neuvillette frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"The Oratrice not only delivers judicial verdicts but also serves as a mechanism to collect Indemnitium and supply energy to the city of Fontaine."
"If it has lost its function, the loss of judicial rulings is a minor issue—we can still conduct trials ourselves. However, without its energy supply, Fontaine could face an energy crisis. That would be a serious problem..."
"Moreover, yesterday, the Oratrice made a judgment unlike any before. This aligns with what you just told us."
"Su Yuan, let me explain the rest," Chevreuse took over the conversation.
"This morning, the Special Security Patrol received a report—someone named Erin was brutally murdered in their own home..."
"Because the method was extremely brutal and the scene was excessively gruesome, I won't go into the details…"
"This Erin—while not exactly a heinous criminal—had deceived many women, both emotionally and financially."
"Yesterday, he stood trial at the Opera Epiclese as the defendant."
"The evidence was clear, and the witnesses were sufficient. Erin rightfully lost the case…"
"But… the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale issued a verdict of 'Death penalty. Immediate execution.'"
"At the time, no one could understand why the Oratrice would make such a ruling. Fortunately, Lady Furina was present and declared a recess, postponing the case until Lord Neuvillette returned to preside over the retrial…"
"However, Erin didn't live to see Lord Neuvillette return—he was found dead in his home last night."
"Now, some extreme groups—especially Erin's friends and family—are pointing fingers at Lady Furina and the Fontaine government, accusing us of refusing to acknowledge the Oratrice's malfunction and instead silencing him to destroy evidence."
"How can they say that?!" Upon hearing this, Su Yuan immediately felt a surge of anger.
"That's completely unreasonable—they're just spouting nonsense!"
"Oh…" Wriothesley spoke up.
"Isn't it obvious? The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale has been corrupted and controlled by the Eerie."
"Hmm?" But soon, Wriothesley sensed something was off.
He looked at Furina and Su Yuan with a puzzled expression.
"Furina, Su Yuan… isn't the Oratrice just a machine?"
"Can a machine be controlled by the Eerie?"
"I don't get it either. Even if the Oratrice was corrupted by the Eerie, it's still just a machine…" Sigewinne pouted, her face full of confusion.
"Then who exactly killed Erin…?"
"Furina, the Oratrice was your creation. Can you inspect it and find out what's going on?" Wriothesley asked.
Faced with Wriothesley's question, Furina suddenly felt a bit flustered.
She genuinely had no idea about the Oratrice's exact mechanisms or what was happening with it now…
"Enough, Wriothesley. I already asked Fu—" Neuvillette paused for a moment before correcting himself.
"I already asked Furina… She said she doesn't understand the situation either."
Among everyone present, only Su Yuan had an idea of what was really going on.
The one being controlled by the Eerie wasn't the Oratrice itself—but the Focalors inside it…
With this, Teyvat's timeline had already begun to shift, heading toward an unpredictable future…
No, to be precise, ever since the Eerie descended upon this world, everything had inevitably undergone some degree of change…
"Sigh… What should we do with an Eerie-corrupted machine? Can we just blow it up?" Wriothesley sighed, took out his tea kettle, and gulped down a few mouthfuls.
This scene was caught right in Su Yuan's sight…
"Everyone, be careful! Stay away from Wriothesley!" Su Yuan suddenly shouted.
Wriothesley was so startled by the sudden outburst that he choked on his tea…
He looked at Su Yuan in utter confusion, only to see Su Yuan staring at him with a serious expression.
"Wriothesley, prove that you are Wriothesley!"
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